For any future visitors who come to CAPSLove and expect to see some updated and recent material, please head on over to the second installment of this blog: http://capslovetwo.wordpress.com/. Thanks for your readership dedication. I look forward to seeing you in the new site. Catch you on the flip side!

This weekend, one of my closest friends is moving away. He got a new job recently (which is awesome) working for Scholastic and while he originally thought he’d be landing the new job in Boston, he was offered instead, the job in New York City. My friend is therefore moving from Baltimore to New York City. While it’s pretty sad to see my friend leave Maryland, I know he’s super psyched about this new change in his life.

While I’m all for Maryland and it’s fantastic crab cakes and football, I have to hand it to my friend for moving to another pretty good place. So to help make my friend a little more at ease with his new life in NYC, here are my top 10 reasons for why New York is (slightly better) than Baltimore. (In no order…)

Better pizza.

New York has a hockey and a basketball team, while Baltimore does not.

Better chance at seeing celebrities.

Speaking of hockey, the Rangers has former Capitals player, Steve Eminger! (Love him.)

Better graffiti.

Better museums. (Sorry, Walters Art Museum. You just don’t cut it.)

More movies have taken place in NY.

Cheesecake is the city’s signature food (in addition to pizza).

NYC has more public transportation and a subway that people actually know about and use.

Better New Year’s celebration. Times Square, for sure.

I think that just about does it. Hopefully my buddy will be able to add to this list, after living and working in the city. I’m sure he won’t miss Baltimore’s notorious crime scene and lack of super heros! Though New York isn’t much of a place for seafood. But I know my friend is a huge fan of cheesecake so I’m sure he’ll fit in just well. I’ll miss you!

Today has finally come to finally celebrate the greatest holiday of the year: Halloween! It’s been another fantastic Halloween Countdown here at CAPSLove and I’ve been saving a fantastic topic just for today: the ultimate Halloween music playlist. As everyone is aware, no party is complete without the perfect music, fitting to the mood and celebration at hand. So today I’m sharing with you some of the music off my Spooky Halloween Mix, which I concocted back in 2004. This mix of music has been tried and true throughout the years, so it is my honor to share it with you today.

As you can see, the mix combines the Halloween standards such as “Thriller” and “The Monster Mash” but then adds in some unexpected twists like somme of the songs from the Rolling Stones and The Who. Plus, I bet this is the only Halloween playlist you’ll find with a song from Sesame Street included! Yes folks, if you really want to give your guests both a trick and a treat this Halloween, I suggest playing this mix of Halloween music. You could say the music is to die for!

Over the weekend, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) was doing a tribute to Buster Keaton which was pretty special. Much like my surprising addiction to watching Curling in the Olympics, I found myself absolutely glued to the TV for hours, mesmerized by this amazing televised opportunity.

A pre-cursor to Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton is one of the most entertaining actors to watch of the silent films era. Known as the great “stone face,” he achieved great success for not showing emotion on his face during many of the great physical stunts he performed. In addition, he was able to keep the same still-looking face for much of his acting routine. This was especially impressive because the majority of his well known work was done in the era of movies with no spoken sound.

Interestingly enough, the nickname, “Buster” suits him all too well. According to Wikipedia:

Keaton acquired the nickname “Buster” at about eighteen months of age. …Harry Houdini happened to be present one day when the young Keaton took a tumble down a long flight of stairs without injury. After the infant sat up and shook off his experience, Houdini remarked, “That was a real buster!” According to Keaton, in those days, the word “buster” was used to refer to a spill or a fall that had the potential to produce injury.

For a great example of some of Buster Keaton’s fantastic stunt work, just take a look at the following clip. It’s one of his best pieces of acting/physical comedy, from the silent film, “Spite Marriage” (which I happened to watch last night among many other films on TCM). I applaud Keaton just as much as I do the actress he co-stars with. Both have impeccable senses of physical comedy. And remember- Buster does the whole bit with his trademark stone face!

When I delightfully informed my family and a friend of this Buster Keaton marathon, I was surprised at the reactions I received. Both my little brother (a Charlie Chaplin fan) and my friend- someone who majored in acting in college- did not know who this famous actor was! I couldn’t believe this lack of a theatrical education, people are getting, these days! I tried to relate the actor to the present. Ever seen the movie, “Benny and Joon” starring a somewhat young Johnny Depp? That’s a great movie in which Depp’s character plays an awkward yet charming Sam, who is something of a Keaton-impersonator and fan.

I ended up watching a good amount of Keaton’s silent films last night. Some of them include One Week, Neighbors, andThree Ages, Seven Chances among others. As you can tell, I really seemed to have gotten my Buster Keaton fill yesterday. Below, I’m sharing you my favorite of the bunch, Neighbors. In this “Romeo and Juliet” type story, a couple who live in neighboring houses are in love, despite their arguing sets of parents who not only don’t get along with the other neighbor, but they also disapprove of their children’s romance. The film’s plot goes off on numerous tangents and the overall film is pretty humorous and memorable.

Part 1:

Part 2: (The acrobats in 5:25- 6:30 are possibly my favorite part of the movie)

The movies are great, but isn’t the orchestration just plain dandy as well? So hopefully, after watching the above short film, and reviewing some of Keaton’s work, the public will now be a little more educated on the work of the great Buster Keaton. This magnificent actor should definitely be studied more often and it’s a wonder that he is not a part of a BFA student’s theatre education! Nonetheless, silent films are great, and Buster Keaton’s role in the industry, is not to go unmentioned.

For many, Labor Day signifies the end of summer, a somber day that some look to with mourn. For those who weep at the thought of the summer season coming to an end, this is a holiday that is not something to look forward to. Thankfully however, it is also a time to come together and reflect upon all the fond memories that were had over the past few months.

If you happen to be in Bethany Beach, Delaware on Labor Day (like I was), your mood might be especially depressing. That is because every year, Bethany hosts a Jazz Funeral for the “death” of summer. The Jazz Funeral is a New Orleans tradition where a parade of a jazz band marches with the coffin and plays some good old’ Dixieland jazz. It usually starts off with slow, sad music, and ends with more upbeat music. The music is used to celebrate the life and sometimes the coffin is shaken so that the person can “dance” one last time. Typically, people carry umbrellas and dress festively. (It is New Orleans, after all!)

Bethany has it’s own version of the Jazz Funeral however. The coffin is covered in beach things and is labeled “Summer” with whatever year it is. Yesterday I experienced my first Jazz Funeral and can say that it was pretty moving- even if it was only for a season, not a person dying. I adore the summer, so with the music and procession, I was moved. Nonetheless, it was a cool way to celebrate the past season and come together. The music was great and the atmosphere was surprisingly joyful, despite the costumes of angels, ghosts, nuns, and priests.

I will definitely have to go to another Jazz Funeral. Maybe I’ll even have to somehow push for my own funeral to be in this style. I think it’s pretty cool, even if I couldn’t physically be there to enjoy it!

Well, I’ve been talking about before, and today I finally got around to making over the Song of the Week page. I’m glad to have finally revised the page, and it didn’t take nearly as much painstaking work as I was anticipating. However, if I want to change it back, that could possibly be more work to revert it. I’m not really sure I like this new look, but it sure takes up less room, and is much more compacted. Plus, this new version ensures every link will better work, instead of leaving you with a blank video screen image, which was pretty sad. I included the year in the dates listed, too. Also, I’m not quite sure why the spacing isn’t even, but I may try to fix it, since it is quite bothersome to look at. So please take a look and let me know what you think. Thanks!

The Magic are in town today to play the Wizards. You couldn’t ask for a more appropriate game. Wizards and Magic? Who will win? Wizards create magic, but wizards are only special because of their magic. So which comes first? It’s like the Chicken and the Egg. And I suppose, it doesn’t really matter which came first, since what is more important is who will end up in first.

vs.

This whole situation would be even better if you include Magic Johnson. What if he played for the Magic? What if he coached? It would then be Magic’s Magic. How perfect would that be? Magic’s Magic versus a bunch of Wizards.

Maybe this time, the Washington team will feel comfortable for once in a game in their own field of tricks. Perhaps, the Wizards will even win. Boy, would that be a fun game. Let’s just hope they don’t become subject to their own magic. From my background knowledge of these things, if the Magic make a joke of the Wizards, it could get pretty gruesome: